Dix insists health care is a top priority

Adrian Dix stopped at 20 Ave. and 31 St. near the hospital today to remind voters of his pledge to reinforce the health care system.

(CHARLOTTE HELSTON / iNFOnews.ca)

May 08, 2013 - 3:21 PM

B.C. NDP leader Adrian Dix stopped on a quiet Vernon side street Tuesday to hammer home his promise of prioritizing health care in the North Okanagan.

During his brief visit, Dix said the 14 new beds proposed by the Liberals for Vernon Jubilee Hospital are simply not enough to alleviate daily crowding.

He said the NDP would take action with enhanced home support to keep people in their homes and out of the hospital.

"We understand that solutions to health care are in the community," he said.

He also reiterated his announcement made earlier that morning in Kelowna about investing $13 million to expand co-op positions for B.C. students. The program would be open to students at Okanagan College and UBCO.

He said the program would provide youth with the skills needed to find jobs while also addressing the skills shortage in our economy.

Dix also spent a portion of his speech criticizing the Liberals, saying they have been "misleading" about a list of issues, including the B.C. Rail deal, the HST and balancing the provincial budget.

He slammed them for their smear campaign against him. "I take responsibility for my mistakes," said Dix, who is guilty of tampering with a memo to protect his boss, NDP premier Glen Clark, in 1999.

"I have a suggestion for voters," he said. "Every time we see the premier or the Liberal Party put out another smear campaign, we will say not this time will we be misled."

Dix's speech was interspersed with shouts of "change for the better" from his orange sea of supporters.

Just before noon Dix was whisked off in his tour bus, heading north for a tour of the Armstrong Cheese Company.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infotelnews.ca or call (250)309-5230.

OPINION At least part of me wasn’t sure I should write this, given what happened last time. It was August 15, 2003 and like many Thursdays before it, I was scratching around for a column idea. The summer newsroom